Affordability has moved to the centre of the political debate. Citizens have been plagued by the post-Covid inflationary experience. Gas prices skyrocketed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And even if headline figures have come down now, past inflation remains stored in current prices.

Some have been hit more heavily than others. If you only had a small financial buffer before, that buffer has now gone, or you are only getting by on credit. Food prices, energy prices and the cost of housing impact you much more, because they constitute a much higher share of your spending.

The affordability crisis is one of the main drivers of the continued rise of right-wing authoritarian parties. As anti-system parties, they profit from anger and disillusionment. Their electorate is composed, to a greater than average extent, of the less educated, those with lower incomes, the unemployed and blue-collar workers. Members of these groups experience competition for scarce public services and housing during events of mass migration such as those provoked by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine or the bombardment of Syrian cities.

We are witnessing the revolt of the lower middle class.1 The traditional social–democrat responses of increasing state spending and taxation have lost credibility in the eyes of the voters. Looking at their electorate, the authoritarian right has managed to form new workers’ parties by promising a reduction in social competition through very strict migration policies or ‘remigration’ and the limitation of global economic exposure.

The Martens Centre’s Academic Council has asked some of its eminent experts to develop new ideas on affordability from a Christian Democratic and conservative perspective. We focus on the housing market (Eoin Drea), energy poverty (Dimitar Lilkov) and digital equality (Žiga Turk), as well as on how to enable an economic turnaround (Ann Mettler), with precise recommendations for policymakers.